Running five years late, the project is expected to be complete in May 2023.

MPs heard the set, built in 1984, is "no longer fit for purpose" and the rebuild is "crucial to the future success of EastEnders".

A new external set is being built to "better reflect modern East End London".

The public accounts committee said: "The BBC has managed [the] project badly." It said it was "disappointed by the BBC's complacency in managing" the project, "particularly in its early stages".

MPs have criticised the BBC's plans to rebuild the set of EastEndersCredit:
PA

The BBC "underestimated the scale and complexity of the project, including how it would age the new sets so that they either exactly replicate what viewers are used to, or look realistic where there are new locations".

The committee said: "EastEnders is being outperformed by its soap rivals and its overall audience has reduced as fewer people watch traditional linear TV.

"Therefore it is important for EastEnders that the BBC completes E20 so that the programme is best placed to not only succeed but to also secure its long-term future."

A BBC spokesman said: "We welcome the committee's recognition of the importance of the E20 project.

"However, we strongly reject the notion that there has been any complacency."

Meanwhile, Lord Hall, the BBC director-general, will reveal plans on Wednesday night for a new, independent foundation to tackle "chronic under-reporting" of local news after talks with the Government, newspaper groups and big tech companies.